U.S. Debt Pollyannas Due for Rude Awakening

CBO's most plausible projection puts national debt at 83% of GDP by 2023. A look at the mythology of Medicare-fee cuts and tax-break expirations.

Bad news for debt-deniers: Despite media coverage to the contrary, the updated 10-year projections of the Congressional Budget Office, released on Tuesday, confirm that the long-term debt crisis faced by the federal government is as much a threat as ever. If the CBO updates are interpreted by Washington as an excuse to postpone painful budget cuts, it means only that the cuts will be all the more painful later.

The CBO's updated projections fully reflect the recent windfalls that will reduce the red ink. And yet, according...